Genshin Impact, I, a mere mortal, cannot accompany you to the very end.

At the same time, carefree and without any worries or burdens, he wanted to live a good life.

He finally reached the end of the abyss, the end of the setting sun, and saw the magnificent light, as well as the rock spear pointed at his heart.

-

P.S.: Ugh, I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I have so many classes today!

This is the second time I've taken leave this month.

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Chapter 108 Heartbreak

"You alone have never trusted me."

Gan Yu felt cold. This place was the deepest part of the earth, where hot water vapor was rising from the flowing fire—yet she felt cold.

It was quiet here, and her heart was at peace.

After the karmic obstacles in my heart were swallowed up, I became quiet and empty.

It was eerily quiet, a quiet that sent chills down your spine.

Gan Yu had never been so afraid of silence.

What's most frightening is that she's very clear-headed now, more so than ever before, and her state is... Because she's so clear-headed, she has no reason not to escape.

She didn't want to go back to the ground. But actually, she didn't have the courage to go back, the courage to witness... because she was afraid. She was afraid that if she set foot on the ground, she would see Qing Nuoyan's corpse, afraid to see blood covering the ground.

I'm afraid to see a heart slowly shattering amidst the blood and rubble.

A broken heart...a broken heart.

It flickered with a faint light.

what.

She had seen it before, she had seen it before, a broken heart. Two thousand four hundred years ago, her arrow pierced through Fushe, and that heart was just as clear, just as... terrifying.

Fear, fear, fear.

But she had to face it.

As Qing Nuoyan said in the end, she needs to learn to face it. If she continues to run away, new karmic obstacles will arise again in the next thousand years.

She has been on the run for 2,400 years. She can't keep running forever. She escaped last time, but this time, she can't escape again.

She wanted to witness all of this, both for herself and for her senior brother... If the Qingnuoyan plan failed, she had the obligation and responsibility to witness the final outcome; she couldn't let him die alone... like last time, dying alone at the end of the world.

Gan Yu climbed up the towering abyss of layered rocks, following the path that Qingnuo Rock had taken. She walked slowly, but she eventually emerged from the abyss. The sun outside was gradually thinning, and a girl in a white dress stared blankly at the sky.

She clearly noticed the commotion behind her and turned around, her bright golden eyes reflecting Gan Yu's face.

"What are you doing here?"

There were no extra emotions.

Gan Yu was stunned.

Her name was Ying, and Gan Yu still remembered her name.

She could even remember her first encounter with Ying, on that sunny spring day on Mount Aozang. The girl was perched on the boy's back, her golden hair falling naturally down his neck, the warm sunlight covering them... That was her first meeting with Ying, and also her first encounter with Qingnuoyan... and their reunion.

[Travel] Gan Yu still remembers what Ying said back then. She said they were traveling.

Gan Yu still remembers the old book clutched in Ying's hand, called "Teyvat Travel Guide," which recorded many, many places and was filled with many, many stories.

"What are you here for?"

Unnaturally... Gan Yu unconsciously clenched her clothes.

What are you doing here?

She asked herself this question.

"I want..." Gan Yu's voice was low, "I want to see it again..."

Ying stared at her calmly for a while before she looked away.

"No need. Thank you."

Ying pursed her lips. "I'll be waiting for him."

Oh, I see.

"No need..." Gan Yu smiled, her expression slightly pale.

So that's how it is... Gan Yu has always overlooked one thing: Qing Nuoyan is not alone in this life. There are people who have always accompanied him, people who have always taken care of him, people who have traveled with him, and people whose diaries are filled with his name... It's just that that person is not herself.

And there's the salt goddess... Heureia.

Gan Yu still remembered Qing Nuoyan's aura; the scent of salt lingered on his body... This was a blessing from the gods. A goddess named Herulia shared her authority with Qing Nuoyan, which is why he possessed the power of a demon god.

At the end of his life, Fusha left Mount Okuzang, where they had grown up together, and went to the 'Salt of the Earth'.

The massacre of the people of the salt-producing land and the assassination of the salt god are not the truth of history.

Whether in this life or a past life, the person standing beside him... has never been himself.

Her senior brother will not die alone, because someone is waiting for him.

Gan Yu finally understood that he didn't need her; rather, she needed him.

All along, I've been deluding myself.

Even though the karmic obstacles in her heart had been removed, she did not feel the overwhelming tremor in her heart. It was as if a sharp thorn piercing her flesh had been pulled out, but her heart still remembered the pain. She felt the pain, that indescribable agony.

She bit her lip, her voice low, "Where...is he now?"

Ying remained silent.

Although her face was calm, her nails were digging deep into her flesh, and her shoulders were trembling slightly, revealing her fear. However, she never looked away; she kept her eyes fixed on a certain spot, staring intently.

After a long pause, she said, "I believe him."

Gan Yu followed Ying's gaze and looked out over the vast wilderness. She quickly found the location of Qingnuo Rock because that aura... was simply too powerful.

Qingnuoyan is very powerful now.

Its power far surpasses that of ordinary demon gods.

But for the Rock King Emperor, for this war god known for his 'killing and conquest', a powerful enemy that can be touched is easier to eliminate than countless filths that cannot be touched.

He stared blankly at the karmic obstacle slowly approaching him.

The boy was clearly so powerful, but the Emperor felt that the boy was so insignificant—he had exchanged his life for the gathering of karmic obstacles, and the karmic obstacles that had lingered in the giant abyss for thousands of years were all imprisoned in his heart.

Those karmic obstacles certainly want to escape, but the mind anchored by contracts is their final prison.

To imprison oneself.

Now, the Rock King Emperor is going to completely destroy the karmic obstacles... and destroy that brilliant heart as well.

He knew what this meant, he knew what it represented.

This means he might kill his friend with his own hands.

Mr. Zhongli subconsciously tightened his grip on the rock spear, slowly exhaled, and kept his golden phoenix eyes fixed on the figure that kept moving forward.

Contract... Contract...

Contracts are truly... a heartbreaking thing.

-

【lv.90】

The karmic obstacles spread and swept across the land like wildfire.

Qing Nuoyan lowered his head, his four twisted arms cracking as the joints splintered and flesh rolled out. He then raised his eyes.

Because his chest had been ripped open... his heart, half of which was exposed, pounded with a thunderous sound, like a giant drum pounding between heaven and earth. The sound of his heartbeat grew louder and more intense.

Dark, filthy blood was transported throughout the body by the heart, causing the body to twist and mutate. Qingnuoyan's heart is the embodiment of Liyue's karma. With each heartbeat, the surrounding environment of Liyue also changed.

The clouds that covered the entire sky tore open to both sides, revealing a crack that stretched for thousands of miles. Thunder and torrential rain poured down from the crack. Karma stood at the very center of the crack. He walked forward step by step, and with his progress, the crack grew larger and larger.

Not only the clouds in the sky, but also the earth before him—the vast, azure plain—was cracking little by little with each step and heartbeat.

This is the concrete manifestation of the karmic obstacles of those in power; with a single word or action, they possess the power to influence and pollute heaven and earth.

“Zhong…Li…” His voice was hoarse, as if it were a shout from the depths of his lungs, with a deep echo, “Make your move.”

He was bleeding profusely, struggling with the great yet filthy will within him, feeling as if his entire body was being torn apart, deep within his consciousness.

He saw an immense, towering abyss, upon which stood a magnificent and majestic mountain range. The karmic obstacle belonging solely to Fushe stood atop the mountain range, with four arms and four legs, its gaze indifferently fixed on the boy below.

Qing Nuoyan knew that this world was his [mind].

"We are one."

Ye Zhang whispered, and Qing Nuoyan felt as if tens of thousands of echoes were playing in his ears at the same time, "I was originally you."

"Don't you get tired of this endless cycle? Don't you get tired of it?"

The figure of the karmic obstacle is blurred, its face a jumbled mix of features, different faces pieced together—an aged warrior, a spirited youth...

Qing Nuoyan knew that those faces were all his 'self', different versions of himself from different periods, even though he had forgotten those faces.

Qing Nuoyan's mind was in turmoil. He tried hard not to listen to the voice of karma. He knew that karma was best at polluting the mind, but he really felt tired, an endless tiredness that was swallowing him up like a tidal wave.

This is what is called "wear and tear," and he could not struggle against it, so he could only let those emotions overwhelm him.

I'm tired of it all... I really am tired of it.

Death or starting over, life after life, mortals grow old and die, they part ways... He was weary of it all—weary of mortal life.

If he were to be consumed by karmic burdens... then he would no longer be an ordinary person. He wouldn't be suffering like this.

The contract that held the heart in place is slowly loosening, and karmic obstacles seem about to break free.

"Let's end this cycle together. Leave everything to me, so you won't have to suffer anymore."

"In this world, as long as I don't hurt you, and as long as we're together, no one in this world can hurt us!"